Peyton Manning Could Announce Return Some Time Next Week

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen mentioned on Friday’s NFL Insiders that he wouldn’t be surprised if Peyton Manning announced he’s returning for the 2015 season at some point next week.

“I would be surprised if we don’t have some type of word next week some time,” Mortensen said, via Pro Football Talk. “That’s when I would expect that we would have word, officially, that Peyton is going to play football.”

According to Mortensen, “Manning has got his heart, his mind, his spirit and his body ready to play in 2015.”

We’ll have more updates regarding the Broncos and Manning as the news is available.

However, Jason Cole of the Bleacher Report had spoken to sources who said that the decision whether Manning returns is ultimately up to Elway, and the Broncos could fail Manning “for any reason” including the four neck surgeries he underwent years ago.

It’s worth mentioning that Elway has said previously that he believes Manning has another year left in him. Although, Cole stresses that “it’s probably only one year.”

Denver hired Gary Kubiak as their new head coach and some have said that this could be a issue for Manning given that his system requires quarterbacks to have some mobility. However, both Manning and the Broncos have downplayed this idea in recent weeks.

Manning, 38, has another two years remaining on his five-year, $96 million contract, which includes base salaries of $19 million for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. If he’s still on the team’s roster as of the final day of the 2014 league year, his base salary becomes fully guaranteed..

Manning’s 2014 season ended with him throwing for 4,727 yards while completing 66.2 percent of his passes to go along with 39 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Pro Football Focus rated him as the No. 10 quarterback out of 39 qualifying players.